Support Your Most Important Clinical Trial Team Members - Here's Who Your Forgetting.

Clinical trials are incredibly complex projects. First, you have subjects across many countries, each with its own set of regulations. Then, you have hundreds of people pushing the project forward, and they’re all focused on different areas that must also satisfy compliance with the Good Clinical Practice (GCP) regulations.

Over the years, this complexity has given birth to a number of specialty software systems. You have your alphabet soup of systems like EDC, IRT, eTMF, CTMS, Safety, ePRO, CDMS, RBM, LMS, and more. Each of these systems was created to help teams, including your DPD, PM, CTM, Study Coordinators, Data Management, Biostatistician, CRA, RA/QAs. Without these systems, it would be overwhelming to manage and maintain these trials, even with the best-defined processes and most disciplined teams.

But, while we’ve included these numerous systems to support our clinical trial teams, we missed probably our most important team member—the patient. When patients interact with the industry as participants in clinical trials, they’re not at the center of the interaction. These interactions are a byproduct of systems designed primarily to support all other players.

There are typically hundreds or thousands of subjects enrolling and participating in a given clinical trial, and they are required to comply with complex protocols. On top of that, in some cases, subjects must accommodate special handling of medications, virtual visits, self-monitoring, and much more. Many subjects do so without fully understanding what is expected of them but continue along their trial, which may last for years.

For the patient, this is just one piece of their patient journey and life. They’re also managing a difficult medical issue, along with a busy schedule of work, friends, and family events, all with their own unique financial circumstances. The logistics and the coordination for each subject is also overwhelming. Just as we’ve adopted solutions for trial teams, we need to leverage technology to help make clinical trials more manageable for our subjects and help them feel supported.

Imagine reducing the number of systems your subjects have to interface with, down to one.

Imagine this one system transforms clinical trial protocol and their individual regimens into a personalized journey.

Imagine this one system offers your subjects information, guidance, and support at the time they need it.

And imagine the orchestration of this new world of subject support only makes life easier for your clinical trial teams.

By integrating a comprehensive, patient-centered system, we can transform the clinical trial experience for subjects, ensuring they feel supported and informed every step of the way. This not only improves patient compliance and retention but also enhances the overall success of the trial. It’s time to prioritize our most important team member—the patient—and give them the tools they need to navigate their clinical trial journey with confidence and ease.

The issue cuts across the entire life science continuum. We’ll address patient awareness, access, and support on the commercial side in our next article.